Arcanists
Arcanists is a turn-based strategy game. Players take turns to utilise one of sixteen spells, chosen by the player beforehand, in order to defeat their opponents. Members have many more spells, clothing, and abilities than a free player. How to Play Basics You play a wizard who can deploy various spells, most of which deal damage, protect you, or summon minions which you can then command. Each player starts with a life total of 250, and unless they have used a special ability (Soul Jar) will die when it hits zero. Playing the tutorial will help you to get the hang of movement, aiming, and firing, and is recommended before joining a multiplayer game. It is worth noting that you can customise your spell book: non-members, new players, and new members won't have access to the full range of spells, but can still benefit from examining the options available. You can also customise your appearance and unlock more clothing items by completing achievements or purchasing them with orb coins on the Orb Downloads section of the FunOrb website. Movement and Direction All of the basic movement actions have alternative keys. Note that these vary between the localised FunOrb sites, as assumptions are made about the keyboard layouts players on each site will be using. This table documents the keys for the English-language version: Note that Firefox users may wish to configure Backspace to not go back in their page history, as otherwise a loss of focus on the applet could result in the loss of a game. The mouse is used to target and fire most weapons. The cursor keys are used to look around the battlefield, although this will cause the camera to stop automatically following the active player or minion. On your turn N and C will loop through your team's minions and your Arcanist; on someone else's turn, C will centre on the active player and return the camera to auto-follow mode. Pressing Q on your turn will skip the current go and move on to the next player without you doing any action. Under certain circumstances, you may find yourself with the ability to fly, or controlling a flying minion. In this case high jump becomes movement upwards, and long jump becomes movement downwards. If your Arcanist has mounted a minion, you have to control the minion rather than the Arcanist. Sometimes, it can be difficult to jump from one location to the next if your character is facing the wrong way, as turning around may mean you fall from where you are standing. To change direction without moving, choose a weapon and target it in the direction you wish to face. Rating A player's rating is a measure of that player's success in rated games. It starts at 1000, and increases or decreases when a player wins or loses a rated game. It is however, possible to earn or lose 0 rating, but this can only happen if the same two players have fought each other for forty-or-so battles. Since non-members cannot play rated games, their rating cannot change: in consequence, a player who has never subscribed will have a rating of 1000. Wands Wands are like a form of currency in Arcanists, and can be used to buy spells at a rate of 5 wands to unlock a spell book (gaining all its level 1 spells) and 2 or 3 respectively for level 2 and level 3 spells. Like rating, they can be gained only in rated games, and so are available only to members. They are gained by winning or by achieving awards. However, players with prestige hats can only win wands while their rating is above a certain level, and players who leave the game before the end will not only lose rating but also fail to receive their wands. Game Modes There are two styles of game: team and free-for-all (FFA). Although nothing prevents people from forming informal teams in an FFA game, the handling of turn order between the two styles has an important difference. In FFA the turn cycles through the players, but in team games it alternates between the teams and so offsets a lot of the advantage which would otherwise be gained by eliminating a player from the opposing team. A team game requires an even number of players: the top half of the list of players form the red team and the bottom half form the blue team. The host of an unrated game cannot start a team game with an odd number of players. Awards At the end of a game, certain awards are given out to the players who did certain things during the match. Players may get wands even if they lost by getting awards. As a general rule, more awards are given in long games with multiple opponents. Note that the meaning of the awards has not been officially published, and so is intelligent speculation for the most part. Spells On your turn, a spell bar at the bottom of your screen shows which spells you have available. Unavailable spells in your spellbook will be shaded out. Some spells can be used a limited number of times, or must be charged for a certain number of turns before they can be used. Hovering the mouse over a spell will display its name and description and, where relevant, the number of charges remaining and turns remaining for it to charge. Spells have three levels: *Level 1 - These spells are available as soon as you purchase the respective spellbook, which costs 5 wands. They are found on the left hand side of the spellbook. *Level 2 - These spells cost 2 wands each, and you must also have the corresponding level 1 spell in your spell list in order to use them. The corresponding spell will be exactly on the opposite side of the book. *Level 3 - These spells cost 3 wands each, and you must use 5 other spells from the same spellbook in order to use them. They are usually single-use. They are located directly on top and the bottom of the spellbook. The breakdown by spellbook is fairly uniform: In addition to its spells, each book except Arcane also has a familiar which grants special abilities to players using the entire book. To gain these abilities it is necessary to sacrifice life, in 20 point increments up to a total of 100. Ball Spells Balls are projectiles which follow a parabolic trajectory. They are generally among the basic spells in a spellbook. Weapons are aimed and fired with the mouse; the weapon's velocity is controlled by how long the left mouse button is held. Balls explode (or, in a few cases, have another effect) at the point of their first impact with the terrain, an Arcanist, or a minion. If they fall into water or leave the playing area to the left or right then they have no effect. Bomb Spells Bombs behave similarly to balls, except they bounce instead of exploding on impact. They explode after 5 seconds. Bombs can be very useful for enemies which are at the bottom of a pit, especially as many bombs have a cluster effect. They can be difficult to use against enemies who do not have obstacles close to them. Arrows Arrows are essentially homing ball attacks. These spells are excellent at damaging opponents at a distance and can be very accurate when used correctly. However, these attacks curve, which can make their direction difficult to predict without practice, and will be stopped by any obstacle. Players must first click the homing target, and then fire the spell as with the ball spells. These spells are often fired at full power upwards, to allow the arrow to curve over the top of the landscape. Arrows follow a three-stage flight pattern. First, the spell flies in a parabolic arc. Second, the arrow makes a circular arc, changing its course to fly directly at the target. Third, it goes straight towards the target. Most arrows have a turning circle with diameter approximately the width of 20 Arcanists. Arcane Arrow, however, has a turning circle diameter of about 3 people, making it the only arrow spell to be able to "turn on a dime". If, for some reason, the arrow does not strike anything when it reaches its target, it will curve back, making a circle back to the target. It will do this several times, with a bit of variation, until the arrow loses its energy. At this point, it reverts to a parabolic trajectory. Bolts Bolts are similar to firearms: they are aimed in one direction and always fire at a set power with a number of shots, normally around 10. They are aimed and fired with the mouse. Some care is required as shots may damage you if you stand too close: in this case, you will usually cease firing. Enemies may be knocked away mid-shot with these spells, so it is advisable to back them against a piece of scenery. Arena Spells These spells affect all the players in the game. No aiming is required for them. Targeted Spells These spells are not directed from your character. Instead, they come from the terrain, for example, from the sky or the water. For this reason, they are very useful for players hiding in an enclosed space, as they do not require any line of sight from the player, although they may require a line of sight from somewhere else (for example, attacks from the sky can be blocked by scenery above the player). Personal Spells These spells affect the player that casts them. They are often some kind of defence against attacks. All personal spells, with the exception of Lichdom, Shining Power and Arcane Energiser, are cancelled when they enter the aura of a Sanctuary. Also, all shields except Static Shield are destroyed if their owner falls into the water or off the side of the playing area. Minions Minions are creatures that you summon to aid you in different ways. Control of these creatures is cycled by using the N or C keys. Minions are moved in the same manner as your Arcanist, although some have limited abilities (for example, many giants cannot jump very well). Minions will generally have a limited move-set consisting of 1-4 moves, which may use ammunition from your Arcanist's spells. Some minions are capable of transporting their owner or certain other minions belonging to their owner. To mount such a minion it suffices to bring the rider and the mount into contact by moving your player into the minion you wish to mount. To move the pair, the mount should be controlled. To dismount, use a jump - generally a long jump, as a high jump will usually result in landing on the mount again. A mounted minion will take damage in place of its rider; however, the rider may be knocked off of a mount by a strong impact. Most minions become zombified when killed by death damage. For more information, see below. Most minion summoning spells have a recharge time of 5 turns. However, some stronger minions have one use only, and Brine Goblins can be summoned every turn. Towers Towers (except the Clock Tower) render the Arcanist immobile. They have a limited amount of health of their own, which is added to that of the player for display purposes. This is the only way to make your Arcanist appear to reach HP of over 250. When damage is dealt to an Arcanist in a tower the tower's health is depleted rather than the Arcanist's; when the tower's health reaches 0, the tower vanishes. If more damage is dealt by a single source (e.g. a single fire ball) than is needed to destroy the tower, the surplus damage is not carried over to the Arcanist. A tower spell cannot be cast if the tower would overlap a living organism (an Arcanist, a minion, or a living tree). Towers are damaged by the Quake spell (except the Clock Tower), and many spells from the Book of Stone have increased damage against towers. Pressing any jump key will cause you to leave your tower. Note that although selecting Arcane Gate while in a tower will give a large targeting circle, the Arcane Tower is the only one which you can take with you when gating. Damage Types Many damage-dealing spells affect all Arcanists and minions equally, but others have special effects. Maps Arcanists features 9 distinct maps to fight in: one for beginners, and one each for every spellbook except Seas and Cogs. 1. Grassy Hills These green slopes are where all young Arcanists train to become great mages. All that can be found here is a clean battleground in which to test your skills. Armageddon Spell: None 2. Giants' Mountains Steep slopes and rugged terrain. Stay here too long and the volcanoes will erupt! Armageddon Spell: Volcano 3. Elven Isles These living islands offer much in the way of places to hide, but watch out, as the ancient magics guarding the area will start raining comets down! Armageddon Spell: Comet 4. Goblin Caves The dank caves of the goblins are a common battleground. Intense mining has disturbed the deep and the ground is liable to erupt from under your feet! Armageddon Spell: Fissure 5. Murky Swamp Amid the witches' huts and rotten trees, Arcanists battle to control the arcane sources of magic within the swamp. Keep hidden, as the high concentration of power draws storms in from afar. Armageddon Spell: Storm 6. Graveyard The gentle slopes of the graveyard are covered with the remains of past Arcanists who have failed in this arena. Evil spirits haunt this place, sending bolts of pure chaos down onto anyone who disturbs them. Armageddon Spell: Rain of Chaos 7. Sky Castles The angels of the sky have opened their heavenly gates to allow Arcanists to engage in battle between their castles in the clouds. Choose your tower and allies carefully to achieve victory in this realm. Armageddon Spell: Sky Ray Note: This map might be based on the Castle Wars minigame in RuneScape, Jagex's other gaming site. 8. Mos Le'Harmless Make your way to the islands of Mos Le'Harmless to get your hands on some 'rum', but watch out for the monkeys - they might just rain on your parade. Armageddon Spell: Monkey (not a spell from any spellbook, but based on the Book of Nature) Note: This map is based on an island in RuneScape of the same name. 9. Arcane Crystals This map will provide a very different style of gameplay; imps will surely find their home there... Armageddon Spell: Arcane Arrows Note: Members only. This map has unique dimensions - it is half as tall and twice as wide as the other maps. Prestige Hats Prestige hats are an optional series of icons which players can earn after purchasing all spells. The spells are traded in for a prestige hat, and the player is left with the initial spell sets (most of the arcane and flame books) and the Book of Cogs, which is only unlocked by obtaining a prestige hat. They have to repurchase the lost spells with more wands. Each Prestige hat makes gaining wands more difficult. To make sure players don't accidentally buy prestige hats and lose all their spells, you must hold 'CTRL' and then click the buy button (right) before you can actually buy the hat. Gaining the first five prestige hats will unlock the Lord of Wands achievement. Gaining all ten prestige hats takes time and persistence but is a huge milestone. Achievements Total Achievements: 32 Total Orb Points: 9000 Trivia *Arcanists was voted players' favourite FunOrb game in a RuneScape Poll. *Once a player has played 501 games the ratings menu will no longer accurately count; it will instead say 500+ *The Arch mage achievement was previously obtained by achieving a ranking of 5000 after winning 50 rated games, but it has recently been lowered to 4000 because of the difficulty of obtaining such a high rank. *After 60 minutes of playing a single game it will end as a draw, stating that the game has run out of time. *During the 2008 Christmas season, the Grassy Hills theme was covered with snow, with castles and trees having Christmas decorations. *Many things have been changed: **In the earlier days of Arcanists, a common tactic was to build a castle directly on top of your opponent's head. **Death Bombs used to deal Death damage, now only the aura they leave behind deals death damage. **Arcanists with Shining Power used to not get knocked out of the sky for a turn when hit. **Soul Jars used to be reusable: once you had died and been reanimated by your jar, it was reset to level 0 and you could build it up to level 5 again. This has now been reduced to a maximum of five uses. **When familiars were introduced, napalm used to be able to deal 210 damage with a fully charged familiar. 42 napalms were fired until 16 July 2008, after which the number was reduced to 18. **Players used to be able to stand on another player and fire napalm directly onto their enemy for a total of 60 damage. Now if they attempt this the first one they fire will harm them and cause them to stop firing. **Headbombing (where a player could fire a bomb directly downward into another Arcanist) was reduced in power on 16 July 2008. Bombs are now fired from the Arcanist, instead of a point just in front of it. Some players still use it, although mainly in unrated games, but many of them stop using this technique because usually it does more damage to themselves to the opponent **It was possible to zombify an Arcanist under certain circumstances, although as this was a bug and not an intended feature, control was limited. **In the earlier days it was also a common tactic to use vine bridges while using flight, it was common to those who wanted to trap a player in any situation or create a ramp to send a bomb down. **It used to be possible to use vine to completely trap somebody. This was reduced in power as players could use vine to trap, then conductor rod. This was almost unavoidable. **Previously, Swallowing Pit would explode all minions on the map as if they were bombs. Later, the explosion was removed, instead replacing it with an Aura of Decay. **Also, shock bomb used to explode and leave behind a crater. Now it just looks like a flash of light, in a somewhat star shape, leaving no damage to the terrain. Category:Multi-player Games Category:Original Games Category:Strategy Games Category:Arcanists Category:All Games de:Arkanisten fr:Arcanistes